Jan Boguslaw Kober, "village Of The Levant," 1933 — Polish School

A beautiful watercolor painting by the Polish artist Jan Bogusław Kober, inscribed “To Madame Janina Walewska—in tribute—Nice, August 10, 1933 ” (Walewska was t un he surname of Emperor Napoleon I’s most famous mistress.)

In the foreground, we see a building made of rammed earth, with an oval roof topped by a ventilation shaft and small side openings— certainly a hammam; also, in the upper left, a pointed roof suggesting a church or a minaret; and finally, in the upper right, figures climbing a hill toward a large structure—a mausoleum or a dignitary’s residence.

In 1930, Jan Kober painted a portrait of Sami Choucair, prominent Lebanese art collector.
In 1932, Jan Kober organized the first Art Exhibition in Beirut.
The subject of this work is therefore most likely a depiction of a village in Lebanon or northern Syria, which he would have painted during his extended stay in the region.
His expressive style, characterized by small brushstrokes, along with his palette—brick red, ochre, green, and black—wonderfully captures the liveliness and the earthy nature of the landscape.

Jan Boguslaw Kober was born in 1890 in Jurki, Mazovia (Poland), and died in Warsaw in 1980.
Kober studied at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts from 1908 to 1912 under Stanislaw Lorentz.

He traveled extensively in Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Italy, and France.
During his extended stays there, he enriched his visual language, combining European tradition with local influences.

A painter and printmaker, he distinguished himself as a portraitist and created refined portraits of political and royal figures.
Portrait of Prince Farouk (heir to the Egyptian throne and future king).
Portrait of Sami Choucair in 1930
Portrait of Stefania Szczerska and her daughter in 1934 in Nice.

In 1932, he organized the first Art Exhibition in Beirut, which established him as a bridge between European and Levantine artistic circles.

Watercolor on paper in perfect condition, signed “J Kober” in the lower right corner.
Dimensions: 38 x 29 cm unframed and 53 x 43 cm with its Maris-Louise mat and wooden frame.